1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system which calculates a charging amount, a communication terminal, an information processing method, and a storage medium storing a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, MFPs (Multi Function Printers) having, for example, printing, scanning, and facsimile functions have been introduced in schools and convenience stores. In general, an MFP installed in a public area makes a charge every time it is used. The MFP often takes a use system in which the user inserts money in advance and then the service starts. The fee system used in charging is managed in a charging table, and the charging table is held in the MFP. A charging amount on a user is decided by the setting of a job to be executed. There is known a system in which a charging apparatus is installed on a network and the fee is calculated for a requested print job (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-67832). Further, there is known a system in which even when no network is usable, a charge is estimated by downloading an estimation software tool of estimating a charge (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-58462).
There is also known a technique of paying a value of printing executed by an MFP by general-purpose electronic money stored in an IC card or the like (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-140990). In a value collection system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-67832, a print job transmitted from a terminal is printed after a printing device charges for the print job by using general-purpose electronic money. In this system, an information terminal such as a PC transmits a print job, and another IC card is charged for the print job. There is also known a technique of incorporating the mechanism of general-purpose electronic money of an IC card in a mobile communication terminal apparatus (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-48270).
There is a demand for easily knowing the fee of a job before an MFP executes a job. Conventionally, the fee is known after an MFP executes a job, or the fee is estimated after a job is transmitted from a communication terminal.
However, in the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-67832, when the charging system goes down owing to any cause or when the charging server is intensively accessed, a response to a user may not be sent or may delay. In the system described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-58462, every time the charging table is updated, a new software tool is downloaded. However, depending on the network communication situation, it is not guaranteed that the download will always succeed. For example, when the server cannot be accessed, the software tool cannot be downloaded.
In the system disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-58462, a software tool needs to be downloaded in advance. When making an estimate in a new apparatus, the software tool needs to be downloaded first. Also, it is necessary to designate an apparatus for downloading, and this requires an operation of reliably selecting a desired apparatus from a list displayed on a display unit.